Pta: Kings propose other names

2005-05-11 13:49

Pretoria - Two Ndebele kings on Wednesday proposed alternative names for Pretoria, and gave historical background to the name Tshwane.

King Makhosoke II said the name Tshwane was only representative of a certain section of the Ndebele people and he and King Mayisha III suggested the names Musi or KwaMyamana be used for the capital.

The Tshwane city council voted in March to use the name Tshwane for the greater metropolitan area while retaining the name Pretoria for the city centre. The name has since been submitted for registration with the SA Geographic Names Council (SAGNC).

The move has met with opposition from several political parties and civic groups.

Abraham Sithole, secretary of the Mpumalanga House of Traditional Leaders, said Musi was the last king to rule over the united Ndebele people at some point in the 1500s.

"Musi settled in what is known as Pretoria, which was then called KwaMyamana. He ruled the Ndebele nation before it split into the Ndzundza and Manala tribes, two of the key tribes of the Ndebele nation today," Sithole said.

King Makhosoke said Tshwane was the grandson of Musi.

"Musi had seven sons, one of whom was called Mahwaduba. Tshwane was one of Mahwaduba's sons," he explained.

"Mahwaduba and Tshwane represent only a certain section of the Ndebele people. We cannot have a city called after only a section of the people. The names Musi or KwaMyamana could be used for the city and Tshwane and Mahwaduba could perhaps be used as street names," he said.

Road signs, weather reports

Makhosoke said he and Mayisha were to meet the metro council next week to explain their views on the names.

Mayoral spokesperson William Baloyi said the metro council was to have met the kings on Monday but the kings were unable to keep the appointment and had sent a delegation to apologise.

"A date is being sought at present to meet the kings, discuss issues surrounding the registration process and explain to them how it works," Baloyi said.

He said the process would be explained to them because it seemed they were considering submitting the names Musi and KwaMyamana.

"At no point did the council invite the public to submit names. The process that is happening now is the registration of the name Tshwane as a geographic one. This name has been used for the council since its formation in June 2000," he said.

Baloyi suspected there were elements deliberately misleading the kings about the registration process.

The SAGNC is to meet on May 26 to decide whether to recommend the registration of the name Tshwane to Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan. If the name is approved by Jordan it would be used on road signs, in weather reports and on all official documentation.

- SAPA